Start and stop control for phonographs



July 26, 1949. c. G. JOHNSON START AND STOP CONTROL FOR vPHONOGrRAPI-IS Filed Apz il 11, 1946 INVENTOR. I 02w! 6? fifms'm ATTORNEY Patented July 26,1949

STARE-AND sror CONTROL FOR rnonooimrns Car l Johnson, -Ghicago, ll-1., 'assignor "to J. Seeburg Corporation, Chicago, ML, a corporation of Illinois.

Application April 11, 1946,, .Serial No. 661,300

.1 This invention relates to a phonograph which is driven by an electric motor and has for its prinoipal object t provide an improved phonograph which-the operationof the motor is controlled ina highly-advantageous manner.

The phonograph comprises a turntable which isdriven by the motor, and a pivotally mounted player arm which carries a pickup and a stylus or needleadapted to cooperate with the recording groove of the'reco-r'd. The phonograph comprises a switch which controls the motor and automatic means for opening the switch to stop the motor when a record has been reproduced. After the reproduction of a record the player arm is moved outwardly manually 'clea-rof the record to permit the played record to be removed and replaced by another record. The player arm is moved inwardly Ito bring the needle into initial playing position with respect to the record.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide means whereby the inward movement :of the player arm towards initial playing position on a record closes the switch so that the'turn-table' is put into rotation beforethe stylus reaches the initial playing position.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of theinvention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a phonograph embodying my invention;

Fig. '2 is an inverted plan view of the switch, associated mechanism and the mechanism movable with the player arm which cooperates with the switch actuating mechanism, the scale'being considerably larger than the scale of 'Fig. 1 and the elements being shown in their position when the player arm is in its outward position;

3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, theelements being shown in the position where the player arm is being moved inwardly towards initial playing position showing the manner in which the switch isclose'd;

(Fig. i is a similar view showing the elements in their positions during the playing of a record;

Ei'g. -5 Iis Ia similar view showing the manner 'in which'ithe switch is opened by the player arm whentherneedle runs into an eccentric groove at the inner end of the recording groove;

Fig.-i6 is a ifragmentary view on a larger scale showing c'ertain or the elements in the relation shown in Fig. 5

Fig. '7 is :a view similar to Fig. '5 showing the mannerin'whic'h the player arm opens theswitch when the :needle runs into a terminal spiral -or runingroove, and

Fig. 8 a similarview showing the relation of the .:elements when the player arm is being moved to its outward position.

t claims. (crane-r24 Referring'to the -drawings and particularly to Fig. *1 the reference-numeral it indicates the motor "-board on which all the phonograph elements aremounted-The motor board supports the turntable H --andthe motor-l2 which drives the turntable by means of a pinion 13 which enages-- the inner rim-of the turntable in known manner.- The-player arm 14 is mounted by a horizontal hearing H E- on an arm 16. This arm isintegral wit-ha vertical-rod I l which is mounted for free-rotation in a standard 143 mounted on the motor'board. "The rod I projects through the motor board and has rigidly mountedon its lower end arrarni l9. On the upper-side of the motor boardis provided a supportZfl on which the player armrests when it 'is moved to its outward position as shown in Fig. -1. A' 'stop 2| projecting downwardly from the motor board is adapted to errgage an up-turned flange 22 on the arm 1-9 so asto limit the outward movement of the player arm as shown Fig.2.

The arm 14! carries an arcuate member-23pmvided with aserra'ted edge and an abutment 24. ndogfl t ismountedby means of a pivot 26 on the arm l9. This dog is biassed-in-to normal position against an abutment 21 by means of a spring 28. "The pivoted dog 25 iss-hown in its normal position relative to the arm 1-9 in Figs. 2 to 5 and 'I.

The motor switch *29 is suitably a leaf switch which is biassedtowards closed position. This switch is mounted on the down-turned flange 30 of a pam'el 3! which is mounted on the under side of the motor board. One of the leaves of the switch"29 carries a button 32 of insulating material is arranged to be engaged by a flange 83 orla' lever 34 which is pivoted at 35' on the panel 3|. The lever -34 is biassed towards switch opening position by means -of a relatively strong spring '36. One end of the lever 34 is turned outwardly andcarries apin 31 which is adapted to cooperate with the pivoted dog 25 in manner which"=will h'ereinatterbedescribed. An' L-shaped latch lever3l3 is pivotally mounted on the panel 3 area and is biassed by a spring t1 towards a stop Mlcarried on the panel. When the lever 34 is in switch closing position the flange 33 is held away from the button 32 by engagement of its shoulder 4 with one end of the latch lever 38 as shown in"-Figs.- 3 and 4. It will readily be understood that when the'latch lever 38 is swung in clockwise direction 'as viewed from below, that is, ass/lowed in these figures said end of the latch le-Ver' SB moves-opposite a recess 42 on the lever 31! so that this *lever is now free to rotate in the clockwise direction as'viewed from below opening the switch -29. Upon the upper side of the long arm of th'e lever 38 "is *pivotally mounted a dog #3 which is providedwith an edge 44 arranged to be engaged""by the serrated member 23 as the player arm moves inwardly during the latter part of the playing of a record as best seen in Fig. 6. The dog 43 is biassed into the path of the serrated member 23 by means of 'a light spring 45. A pin 46 projects downwardly from the latch lever 38 and is arranged to be engaged by the abutment 24 when the player arm is being carried inwardly by a spiral terminal groove after a record has been reproduced.

It is to be noted that the abutment .24 and the projecting portion of the dog 25 present a;

V-shaped formation which is arranged to engage the pin 46 and serve as a stop limiting the inward movement of the player arm so that the player arm cannot be completely rotated in clockwise direction as viewed from above as in Fig. 1.

The operation is as follows; When a record is being reproduced theswitch 29 is closed and the associated elements are in the position shown in Fig. 4. The arm I9 is out of contact with all the mechanism associated with the switch 29. Towards the end of the playing of the record the serrated member 23 engages the edge 44 in the manner shown in Fig. 5 swinging the dog 43 slightly in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6, against the action of the weak spring 45. Continued playing of the record merely moves the serrated member 23 further past the dog 43. When the needle runs into an eccentric terminal groove the reverse movement of the serrated member 23 swings the dog 43 in counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6 and the latch lever 38 is swung in clockwise direction from its position in Fig. 4 into its position in Fig. 5 moving the short arm of the lever 38 into alignment with the recess 42 on the lever 34 so that this lever is freed to move into its switch opening position as shown in Fig. 5. Thus the motor is stopped at the end of the playing of the record.

In the case of a record having a spiral terminal groove the serrated member 23 moves past the dog 43 in one direction so that the dog 43 is not actuated. The continued inward movement of the player arm due to the spiral terminal groove brings the abutment 24 into engagement with the pin 43 so that the latch lever 38 is swung in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7 again releasing the lever 34 so that it opens the switch and stops the motor.

The operator now lifts the player arm and moves it outwardly. During this outward movement the pivoted dog 25 engages the pin 31 in the manner shown in Fig. 8. The dog 25 merely swings from its normal position against the action of the relatively weak spring 28 so that the lever 34 remains in switch opening position as shown in Fig. 8. When the player arm is moved to its outward position the dog 25 swings back to its normal position on the arm I 9 against the abutment 27 under the influence of its spring 28. The operator now removes the record and replaces it with another record and to start the motor he merely moves the player arm inwardly towards initial playing position. During this inward movement the dog 25 engages the pin 31 in the manner shown in Fig. 3 and the lever 34 is swung in counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 so that the flange 33 is withdrawn from the button 32 and the switch 28 closes. In this movement of the player arm the dog 25 is forced against its abutment 21 so that it behaves as if it were a rigid part of the arm Hi. When the lever 34 is thus swungin the counterclockwise direction the lever 38 is free to swing in the same direction so that its short end is brought into latching position with respect to the lever 34 as shown in Fig. 3 so that the switch remains closed until the completion of the recording in the manner described above. Before the player arm reaches initial playing position on the largest record for which the phonograph is intended the dog 25 clears the pin 31 so that all the elements on the arm I9 are out of engagement with the switch actuating mechanism. It is to be noted in Fig. 3 that the pin 37 is engaged by a face on the dog 25 which is quite oblique relative to the radial direction between this surface and the shaft II which provides the axis of movement. Consequently the switch is opened by a very small angular movement of the player arm between its outward position and initial playing position.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very simple phonograph in which the motor is started as an incident to the movement of the player arm from its normal outward position into initial playing position, and in which the motor automatically stops at the end of the playing of a record.

Although the invention has been described in connection with the specific details of a preferred embodiment thereof, it must be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my that what I claim is:

1. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor, a player arm mounted adjacent the turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on said turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely to the initial playing position of a record on the turntable, a switch controlling element and an element movable with the player arm, a dog carried by one of said elements arranged to engage the other element, an abutment carried by the element carrying the invention I declare dog, a spring biassing said dog against said abutment, said dog being arranged to engage the other element and to be deflected by such engagement when the player arm is moved outwardly towards its outer position, and to engage rigidly the other element during inward movement of the player arm whereby the switch controlling element is actuated to close the switch when the player arm is moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position to start the motor.

2. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor, a player arm mounted adjacent the turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on said turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely to the initial playing position of a record on the turntable, a switch controlling element, an element movable with the player arm,

' a dog carried by one of said elements arranged to engage the other element, an abutment carried by the element carrying the dog, a spring biassing said dog against said abutment, said dog being arranged to engage the other element and to be deflected by such engagement when the player arm is moved outwardly towards its outer position, and to engage rigidly the other element during inward movement of the player arm whereby the switch controlling element is actuated to close the switch when the player arm is moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position to start the motor, and a member movable with the player arm and arranged to actuate the switch controlling element to open the switch and stop the motor after record has been reproduced.

3. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor, a player arm mounted adjacent the turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on the turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely to the initial playing position of a record on the turntable, a switch control element having a switch opening and a switch closing position, a latch for latching said switch control member in switch closing position, a member movable with the player arm as it moves across the record during playing, cooperatin means on said latch and on said member movable with the player arm for moving said latch to unlatchin position at the end of the playing of a record whereby the switch is opened, and an element on said member movable with the player arm, dog carried by one of said elements arranged to engage the other element, an abutment carried by the element carrying the dog, a spring biasing said dog against said abutment, said dog being arranged to engage said other element and to be deflected by such engagement when the player arm is moved outwardly and to engage rigidly said other element during the inward movement of the player arm whereby the switch control element is actuated into latched switch closin position when the player arm is moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position.

4. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor biassed to closing position, a player arm mounted adjacent the turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on the turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely to the initial playing position of a record on the turntable, a lever element arranged to open said switch in one position, means biassing said lever element to switch openin position, a latch arranged to hold said lever element in switch closed position, means biassing said latch towards latching position, a member movable with the player arm as it moves across a record on the turntable, complementary engaging elements on said memher and said latch to move said latch to unlatching position at the end of the playing of a record, and an element movable with the player arm, a dog carried by one of said elements arranged to engage the other element, an abutment carried by the element carrying the dog, a spring biassing said dog against said abutment, said dog being arranged to engage the other element and to be deflected by such engagement when the player arm is moved outwardly towards its outer position, and to engage rigidly the other element during inward movement of the player arm whereby said lever element is moved to switch closing position when the player arm is being moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position.

5. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor biassed to closed position, a player arm mounted adjacent the turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on the turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely into initial playing position of a record on said turntable, a lever arranged to open said switch in one position, means biassin said lever to switch opening position, a latch arranged to hold said lever in switch closed position, means biassing said latch towards latching position, a member movable with the player arm as it moves across a record on the turntable, complementary engaging elements on said member and said latch to move said latch to unlatching position at the end of the playing of a record, and a pivoted dog movable with the player arm for moving said lever to switch closing position when the player arm is being moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position.

6. A phonograph comprising a turntable, an electric motor operatively connected to the turntable, a switch controlling the motor biassed to closed position, a player arm mounted adjacent said turntable and arranged to cooperate with a record on the turntable, the player arm being manually movable to an outer position clear of a record on the turntable and reversely into the initial playing position of a record on said turntable, a lever arranged to open said switch in one position, means biassing said lever to switch opening position, a latch arranged to hold said lever in switch closed position, means biassing said latch towards latching position, a member movable with the player arm as it moves across a record on the turntable, complementary engaging elements on said member and said latch to move said latch to unlatching position at the end of the playing of a record, a dog pivotally mounted on said member, an abutment on said member and a weak spring biassing the dog towards the abutment, said dog being provided with an oblique surface arranged to engage said lever as the player arm is moved inwardly from said outer position into said initial playing position so that the lever is moved into and latched in switch closing position, the abutment bein located so that the contact of the lever with the dog forces the dog against its abutment during such inward movement, and the dog swings freely against the action of its weak spring without actuating the lever during the movement of the player arm to said outer position.

CARL G, JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,244,551 Selter Oct. 30, 1917 1,259,699 Woods Mar. 19, 1918 1,525,948 Murphy Feb. 10, 1925 2,083,314 Carson June 8, 1937 2,300,209 De Tar Oct. 27, 1942 

